Order - The First Law of the Home

An ideal homemaker realizes that order must be the first law of her home. With her home free from clutter and confusion, maximum progress and accomplishment may be enjoyed by family members. This helps bring about a tranquil atmosphere which is a blessing to all.

Chapter 4 in the Art of Homemaking was the longest yet and for me was definitely a case of preaching to the converted. The practice of having a place for everything and everything in it's place is one that I have always embraced and it was nice to have my obsessive neatness validated, even if it was coming from a fifty-year-old book. 

Overall, this facet of homemaking has to do with the power of habits and the very basic fact that it is just as easy to put clothes, papers, books, and other items where they actually belong as it is to throw them over a chair, on a table, or wherever your go-to spot is for dumping things. It might take a second or two longer initially, but in the long run you'll save time by knowing exactly where things are when you need them. No more searching for that left shoe on Sunday morning. It really is a matter of habit. And in case you're thinking, "Yeah, but I have 7 kids" or something along those lines Mrs. Hoole quickly puts you in your place by reminding us that children (or husbands) are only an excuse and not a reason for having a cluttered home.

There are eight points in the chapter that will help us accomplish our goal of establishing and maintaining an orderly home, but I'll just cover my five favorite today:

1.  Let each room fulfill it's function. Sleeping should happen in bedrooms, eating in the kitchen or dining room, relaxing and having fun in the living or family room. Think about it, if you're only eating in the kitchen or at the table you're not going to be spending time gathering dishes from bedrooms, vacuuming crumbs from couch cushions, or cleaning spills out of carpets. My favorite part of this little section was the reminder that "You're not the family doormat. Have some practical family policies and insist on cooperation and respect." It seems pretty basic, but determining what each room's function will be and only using it that way will go a long way toward making a home more orderly. So decide on the function of each room (the kitchen and bathroom are easy, right?) and then use the space accordingly.

Confining food to the kitchen or dining room is obviously something I have to work on..

2.  Streamline each room.  This is a long section, but the part I loved most is the suggestion to think about your drawers, closets, and cupboards and how you use them. Have a reason for putting a certain item in a certain place and then keep it there. I find this to be especially true in the kitchen. Everytime we've moved to a new home I've given great thought to figuring out where things belong in the kitchen. I tend to organize into zones - baking tools and ingredients near the mixer, wooden spoons and other cooking tools along with pots and pans near the stovetop, everyday dishes and utensils closest to the dishwasher so it can be unloaded without lots of trips back and forth across the kitchen, plastic containers in a convenient spot for packaging leftovers after dinner, mugs and hot chocolate mix near the kettle for my morning drink, and everything for packing lunches in one area. Sometimes it takes a little living to see how you're really going to use a space and things get shifted a bit, but really thinking about how you use your things and the places where they will be stored makes a big difference.

3. Keep neat closets and drawers. Once you've determined exactly what will be stored in each closet, drawer, or cupboard it takes only a couple of seconds extra time to put something away carefully instead of stuffing it in haphazardly. It's not enough to let things become more and more messy over time and then have a grand "dresser and closet cleaning" day. A bonus here is that the neater you are, the more space you'll have. In a house with only three closets I'm all for finding extra space!

4. Have the courage to throw away. I must be super courageous because I am an notorious purger! My mantra is when in doubt, throw it out. I think this is partly a consequence of my nomadic lifestyle. You have to really need or love something and be certain of it's future use and value to be willing to cart it across the world and back. Some questions to ask yourself if you're not sure to keep something or not. Do you use it regularly? Do you love it? Are you keeping it because you feel obligated to? I understand that sometimes we feel guilty about getting rid of things that were gifts from loved ones. I still remember early in our marriage being mystified when my mother-in-law indicated she was upset that I hadn't kept an apron or a cookbook or something that they'd given me. I get that this particular reason to hold on to things is hard to get over, but do it anyway! Are you keeping it just in case you need it in the future? Do you have more than one of this item or do you have something else that could do the same job?  For example, do I really need three pyrex liquid measuring cups? No, no I do not. Bottom line here is that happy > stuff. 

5. Label all stored items. The things you do decide to keep should be stored safely and labeled. I'm a fan of big rubbermaid totes as my storage containers because they're waterproof, dustproof, and stack really nicely. I use masking tape for my labels. Just a strip on the side and another on the lid with a sharpie describing the contents. I've never taken things this far, but you could even keep a master list of things that are stored in out of the way areas like the attic or basement to refer to when you need to pull something out of storage. You can go all high tech if you want to and use the app Gigmi which allows you to organize your containers on your phone, and even manage them on your computer. All you do is take photos of the stuff as you toss into your storage boxes. It could be decorations, kids clothes, camping equipment, whatever. Just take a quick snap with your phone. Your containers are all created and organized on the app and when you click on one, it will show you everything that's inside. You can literally look inside your containers without leaving the comfort of your living room. It will also format labels for you that you can print out and put on the boxes. It sounds really cool, but I'm old and tend to be more of a paper and pencil person. 

I have my not-so-secret cluttered areas (my shoes and the laundry room) but overall I live for an orderly, neat home. Living in a space that is organized helps me to be a better wife and mother. I have more time and energy for Jared and the girls when I'm not fighting against the mess, searching for misplaced items, or feeling anxious because of clutter. I like to think that having a neat house helps the kids be happier and better able to focus on their school responsibilities. Plus Jared can come home from work, which is by definition a stressful place, to our home that is pleasant and relaxing because there's order. What about you? Is order the first law of your home? Where do you struggle and where are you a rockstar?